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New Braunfels Herald Zeitung (Newspaper) - March 25, 1999, New Braunfels, Texas
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Vol. 148, No. 89 14 pages in I section March 25, 1999
Thursday
Serving Comal County since 1852
50 cents
NATO forces attack Yugoslavia
BELGRADE, Yugoslavia (AP) — Wave after wave of NATO warplanes and missiles struck Yugoslavia on Wednesday, pummeling army barracks, power plants and air defense batteries in an effort to force the country’s defiant leader to cease his onslaught against Kosovo Albanians.
The NATO attack came after months of diplomacy failed to end a year of fighting between Yugoslav forces and ethnic Albanian separatists that has killed more than 2,000 people and left more than 400,000 homeless in Kosovo, a Yugoslav province.
“We act to prevent a wider war,” President Clinton said in an Oval Office address six hours after the attack began. “By acting now, we are upholding our values, protecting our interests and advancing the cause of peace.” Yugoslavia declared a state of war shortly after the first attacks, stepping up the mobilization of troops. Lt. Gen. Nebojsa Pavkovic, com-
CLINTON
mander of Yugoslav troops in Kosovo, said 40 targets were hit in the first waves, but he claimed that damage was “minimal.” Explosions resounded in Kosovo’s capital of Pristina starting at 7:55 p.m. (12:55 p.m. CST),
MILOSEVIC “d city °f 280,000 was plunged into darkness when the electricity failed. The official Tan-jug news agency reported four heavy blasts in
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the city, including three from the area of Slatina airport.
More than a dozen explosions were heard around Belgrade, the Yugoslav capital, including some near Batajnica military airport and one near a power plant.
Four missiles struck a military aircraft plant at Pancevo, six miles north of Belgrade, destroying several small aircraft.
In neighboring Montenegro, which with Serbia forms Yugoslavia, an army military barracks in Danilovgrad was in flames after being hit.
City council takes swing at its golf course
By Bill O’Connell
Staff Writer
About 6 percent of the New Braunfels population played golf at Landa Park this past year.
The remaining 94 percent helped pay the bill for the 67,000 rounds of golf played there, making it one of the more exclusive public courses in the area.
One might be inclined to pardon the subsidization if the Landa Parte course contributed revenue to the city’s general operating fund, or if it were attracting droves of out-of-town-ers to play the course, stay in local hotels and dine at area restaurants.
Neither is happening, city officials said Wednesday. City council member Randy Vanstory berated financial operations
at the golf course at a budget workshop Wednesday night. Vanstory criticized the city’s inability to turn a profit at a facility that hosts 67,000 rounds of golf in a year.
‘To me, that is just ludicrous,” Vanstory said.
Council members and city staffers met Wednesday to discuss the proposed budget for fiscal year 2000, which begins July I. Council is expected to approve the budget this spring.
The Landa Park Golf Course was expected to generate $679,500 in revenue in the present fiscal year, which ends June 30. Expenditures totaling $686,468 indicated the course will lose money this year, which city officials said was part of a recent trend.
“Every year we’ve been told if we just get through this, next year we’ll make money,” mayor Jan Kennady said.
Fiscal year 2000 projections show it will cost $732,078 to operate the Landa Park course from July I of this year to June 30, 2000. The golf course is expected to make $721,558 during that time, leaving the city $10,500 in the red.
Vanstory said Wednesday he wanted golf course manager Ward Watson to figure a way for the facility to turn a $100,000 profit this coming fiscal year. Watson, who has managed the Landa Park course for nearly a year, said Vanstory’s reque^Pc^uld raise the hackles of many local golfers because it requires a substantial hike in annual fees.
City residents pay $300 for an annual pass at the golf course. Non-residents are charged $365.
Watson estimated that about 47,000 of the 67,000 rounds of golf played at the course this past year were played by annual fee customers. That meant some residents that frequently played the course did so at slightly more than $1 per round, Watson said.
Raising the cost of annual fees could make the Landa Park course more accessible to daily customers, who pay $12 to $14 per round. The relatively low cost of annual passes severely limited the number of tee times.
Any move toward raising annual fees could meet opposition with the Landa Park Municipal Golf Course Advisory Board, according to Watson. The nine-member board has been “dictating” to Watson that the golf course remain a break-even financial operation, he said, and added that he got along with the board on most issues.
Cool cats prowl after hours
Left, Ali Edens (right) and Michelle Rodriguez (center) sample the dip they created with a classmate at a recent Cool Cats afterschool program at Canyon Middle School.
Below, Cool Cats Anthony Rhoades, left, and Matt Brewer practice inside and outside blocks with karate instructor Brett Riley inside a classroom at the school.
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Herakj-Zeitung
New program helps at-risk students find constructive activities in afternoon
By Heather Tooo
Staff Writer
Eighth-graders Elgin Lowari and Anthony Rhoades are among a handful of Canyon Middle School students who don’t leave campus when the bell rings at 3:30 p.m.
While their classmates head home, Lowari and Rhoades learn the basics of auto mechanics and the discipline of karate.
The students are part of a small group who recently discovered a little-known secret at CMS called Cool Cats.
Cool Cats is not an elite athletic club or academic society, but a free after-school program for students looking for an alternative to the negative influences that have lured many of their peers.
The program, which began in early March, was developed by Communities in Schools of Comal
County to provide middle school students a safe environment where they could learn new skills, participate in physical activities and interact with positive role models.
“There is definitely a need for these kind of activities for this age group,” said Christine Douglas, executive director of Communities in Schools. “There are a large number of students left unsupervised after school, and we need to provide positive activities for these youth so they don’t turn to negative ones.”
At CMS, 31 percent of the student population has been identified as at-risk, according to the criteria set out by the Texas Education Agency.
Only in its third week, Cool Cats already has received rave reviews.
“I love it,” Rhoades said. “I have nothing else to do but go home and watch TV, but here, I can learn useful life skills.”
Seventh-grader Jennifer Naumann said regulars of the program, which average to about IO students a day, have baked cookies, learned karate moves, auto maintenance skills and watched films as movie critics.
“The movie critics part is really fun. It’s probably my favorite activity,” she said. “We’ve watched ‘Austin Powers,’ ‘The Truman Show’ and ‘Benny and Joon’ so far.”
See CATS/5
Five area schools cashing in
By Heather Tooo Staff Writer
Five area schools will receive part of a $2 million cash award from the state for significant improvements in student achievement.
Comal Elementary School, Canyon Intermediate School, Mountain Valley Intermediate School and Arlon Seay Intermediate School in Comal Independent School District and Lone Star Primary in New Braunfels Independent School District were awarded more than $10,000 by the Texas Education Agency on Monday.
Cash awards, ranging from $500 to $5,000, were awarded to 823 school campuses across Texas for high levels of student achievement or increases in student performance, as measured by the Texas Assessment of Academic Skills test.
Schools will receive the following amounts:
• Comal Elementary - $2,000;
• Canyon Intermediate — $2,769;
• Mountain Valley Intermediate — $1,183;
• Arlon Seay Intermediate — $3,012; and
• Lone Star— $1,519.See SCHOOLS/5
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Key code 76
Rabies vaccinations available
By Heather Tooo Staff Writer
Comal County residents are urged to protect their cats and dogs against the deadly rabies virus Saturday at an annual rabies vaccination drive.
Pet owners can bring Rover and Felix to the Comal County Fairgrounds or Canyon Lake Fire Stations I and 2 from 1:30 to 4:30 p.m. Saturday for a $6 vaccination.
Residents can also license their pets with the county or the city of New Braunfels for $5.
The Comal County Veterinary Medical Association is sponsoring the drive as a convenient and low cost way for residents to protect their pets. Rabies vaccinations usually cost about $10 to $12.
Dr. Barbara Word, a veterinarian at Canyon Animal Clinic in Sattler and secretary/treasurer of Comal County Veterinary Medical Association, said animals vaccinated had to be at least three months old. Residents who received a lifetime county license need to have proof of the licenseSee RABIES/5
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